


Stand Under My Umbrella

by brightblackholes



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Children, Five attempts to be a good sibling, Gen, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Vanya Hargreeves Deserves Better, other siblings mentioned - Freeform, takes place before Five yeets himself into the future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-29 21:47:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20089282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightblackholes/pseuds/brightblackholes
Summary: Five hears his sister crying.  He's not the most qualified to provide comfort, but maybe Vanya just needs someone to let her know they care.Written for Writer's Month day 2: hurt/comfort





	Stand Under My Umbrella

**Author's Note:**

> Written for writer's month day 2: hurt/comfort
> 
> I've always thought that the dynamic between Five and Vanya would be interesting as kids. She put out a marshmallow and peanut butter sandwich for him every night after he disappeared, and in the scene where he time travels we see them make eye contact over the table. I wanted an example of them being a good family.
> 
> My sister gave me the title. It's applicable to the trope, so I ran with it despite how little it may actually fit the story.

Five appears in his room and rips off his domino mask. The mission was successful, and his powers are getting stronger and stronger every day. His teleportation has been flawless for years, and he knows that he could time travel if Hargreeves would just give him the permission. He can do it without guidance if that’s what it comes to, but he may have to sneak out some of his father’s books and it would be so much easier if the man himself gave permission and assistance.

He registers the sound of crying once he sits down on his bed.

No one should be crying. None of them were hurt, and Ben didn’t even get blood on his face this time.

Everything makes sense when he pokes his head out and realizes that the sound is coming from the room across from his.

Vanya.

Even though they’re all the same age, some of them inevitably take on roles as older siblings: nurturing, leading, protecting. Luthor likes to pretend that he makes a good leader because Hargreeves gave him the number one, but Allison is generally more level-headed if she’s actually focusing, and Ben is good at comforting as long as he isn’t the one that needs to be comforted. Vanya herself isn’t horrible with offering support in a quiet way.

Five is probably the last sibling that anyone would go to if they wanted a sympathetic shoulder, but he likes Vanya. She’s the only sibling that can remember his favorite sandwich without having to ask Mom. Besides, something about her situation doesn’t quite make sense. She’s the only one without powers for no discernable reason, yet Hargrieves keeps her around and makes her help him in organizing their training. She doesn’t complain, just recedes into herself. She’s quiet, and she’s the only sibling with the patience to let him talk about the science behind time travel, even though he knows that the technical jargon goes over her head.

He doesn’t really like listening to Vanya cry.

He knocks and pushes the door open, rather than just teleporting into her room. It’s a small courtesy, but one she likely appreciates if she’s upset. He finds her curled with her head on her knees, leaning against the side of her bed.

“What’s wrong,” he says, rather than asks. She shakes her head, so Five sighs and plops down next to her.

“Vanya.”

He nudges her with his foot and she finally looks up, wiping her eyes with her sleeve messily as she does.

“I’m fine,” she hiccups, but her tears undermine the words.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks, even though he can already guess what’s wrong. While the rest of the siblings may have their fights and moments of dislike, at least they have their powers and the Umbrella Academy to unite them. Vanya has no one. Even her interactions with Hargreeves have undertones of disappointment and dismissiveness, more so than with the other siblings. That’s a very lonely way to live.

Vanya shakes her head.

“Okay,” he says. She resumes crying, so he grabs the tissue box from the side table and pats her awkwardly on the shoulder once.

He probably should have gotten Mom instead of trying to solve the issue himself, but as human-like as Mom may be, he can never forget that she’s just a robot created by their father. Since Hargreeves has never been very paternal or comforting himself, sometimes comfort from Mom feels fake to him. Maybe it’s the same for Vanya.

He shifts a little closer and tries to rub her back. Vanya gives him a grateful look and scoots forward to make it easier.

“Could you…”

She trails off. Five waits, but when it doesn’t seem like she’s going to continue he gives her another nudge.

“Could you maybe read to me?”

“You want me to read to you?” he asks. HargHargreevesrieves doesn’t approve of wasting time with fiction, but Five can’t really envision Vanya leafing through the dusty tomes of science or invention found throughout the house.

“I… I have a few books hidden under my bed. You won’t tell Dad, will you?”

She looks like she’s going to start crying harder again, but Five doesn’t respect their father that much, anyway.

“Of course not,” he scoffs. “Hand one over.”

Vanya swipes a sleeve over her eyes again and reaches under the bed, pulling out a book. It’s worn and definitely second hand, probably stolen from a library if the extra barcode is any indication. A quick scan of the back shows that it’s a fictitious book about a girl looking for her father on a distant planet, and the title suggests that time travel may be involved.

It won’t hold any useful, scientific information, but Five can’t help but wonder if his recent time travel discussions had any influence over the book choice.

It’s a nice thought, at least.

“Okay,” he says, opening the book and trying not to let any of the pages fall out. Vanya inches closer. The family itself isn’t overly big on physical affection, Five the least of all, but he’s okay with her closeness now. If it’s comforting for her to be able to read over his shoulder, so be it. Her flow of tears has lessened now, so she should actually be able to see the words.

“Chapter one,” he begins. “It was a dark and stormy night.”

Vanya settles next to him, and he reads to her until whatever made her cry is a distant memory.

**Author's Note:**

> The book Five reads to her is A Wrinkle in Time.
> 
> Commends and kudos always appreciated! Thanks for reading!
> 
> Find this on Tumblr [here](https://themaevethcometh.tumblr.com/post/186737782963/stand-under-my-umbrella)


End file.
